Sahara to check into London’s Grosvenor House

LONDON: Subrata Roy's Sahara India Pariwar is reportedly on the verge of buying the iconic Park Lane hotel, Grosvenor House, from the Royal Bank of Scotland for £470 million, the Sunday Times reported without citing sources.

RBS, which took over the Grosvenor House after Le Meridien collapsed, has for a while been trying to sell off the hotel in central London.

Sahara is understood to have emerged as the highest bidder for the hotel, and other names linked to the deal include sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and China, according to reports.

Grosvenor House Hotel is an iconic London landmark , and host to some of the most high-profile events and guests. RBS, which had to be bailed out by the UK government after the recession, owns a long lease on the hotel managed by Marriott. The bank is in the process of selling off many of its noncore assets as it rebuilds its balance sheet, as it did with its Asian operations last year.

The deal with Sahara, according to the report, is at a 'knock-down' price. Neither Sahara or RBS commented on the deal.

M&A in the hotel industry is expected to pick up in this financial year thanks to an upturn in the business travel segment.